Agenda item

Public participation

Dr William Scott, in support of the application to register the land as a town or village green.

William Stuart Bruges, in support of the officer’s recommendation.

Peter Smith, Vice Chairman of Semington Parish Council, neither in support for or objection to the officer’s recommendation.

The Definitive Map Officer, Janice Green, introduced a report which recommended accepting the Inspector’s recommendation and to refuse the application by ‘The Friends of Great Lees Field’, under Sections 15(1) and (3) of the Commons Act 2006, to register land off Pound Lane, Semington, known as ‘Great Lees Field’, as a town or village green for the reasons as set out in the Inspector’s report.

Members of the Committee resolved in December 2017 to appoint an independent Inspector to preside over a non-statutory public enquiry and to make a recommendation to Wiltshire Council as the Registration Authority. A public enquiry was held in October and December 2019 at which the Inspector heard evidence from all parties and subsequently produced a report and recommendation to the Registration Authority.

Key issues highlighted included the evidence of the exercise of lawful sports and pastimes over the whole of the application land, where the majority of users had been walking and dog walking and the alleged ploughing of the land in 2000, which would lead to significant interruption to the qualifying 20-year user period.

The Definitive Map Officer informed the Committee that there had been one amendment to the original report due to be brought to the meeting in March 2020, which was subsequently cancelled. Paragraph 21 referenced the joint applicant’s dispute over paragraph 78 of the Inspector’s report regarding the Inspector’s perception of the joint applicant’s role in the application process. The Inspector stated at paragraph 78 of the report that this was only the Inspector’s impression and it was not for the Registration Authority to amend the Inspector’s report, but for members of the Committee to note the comments.

The Democratic Services Officers, Jessica Croman and Craig Player, read out the public statements that had been submitted prior to the meeting, as detailed above. All statements were also available to view in the Agenda Supplement 2, published prior to the meeting.

The Definitive Map Officer addressed the main point raised by members of the public, focusing on the main parties’ joint request to adjourn the inquiry and the Registration Authority’s refusal to grant this request, which had been addressed in the Inspector’s report and in Agenda Supplement 3, published prior to the meeting.

At the start of the debate a proposal was moved by Cllr Trevor Carbin, seconded by Cllr Edward Kirk to refuse the application as detailed in the report and the officer’s recommendation.

Resolved

That Wiltshire Council, as the Registration Authority, accepts the Inspector’s recommendation and that the application by ‘The Friends of Great Lees Field’, under Sections 15(1) and (3) of the Commons Act 2006, to register land off Pound Lane, Semington, known as ‘Great Lees Field’, be rejected for the reasons set out in the Inspector’s report dated 7 February 2020 (Appendix D).